A major advance in personalised cancer medicine
ManTRa DX delivers a major advance in personalised cancer medicine, focused on tumour hypoxia. Solid tumours have different amounts of oxygen and low levels (hypoxia) are associated with resistance to treatment and a poor prognosis. The relationship between tumour hypoxia and poor prognosis is firmly established. Patients with the most hypoxic tumours have the worst prognosis and are more likely to spread.
The most hypoxic tumours are more likely to recur following surgery and hypoxia leads to resistance to radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Although less studied in the immunotherapy field, the onco-immunotherapeutics class of drugs rely on stimulation of the patient’s own immune system to destroy tumour cells and as such, their success is highly dependent on a level of oxygenation sufficient to maintain immune cell function. There is currently no way to measure the level of hypoxia in tumours in routine clinical practice.
ManTRa DX is a diagnostics development company originating from the Department of Translational Radiobiology based within the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) part of the University of Manchester
Led by co-founders:
Professor Catharine West
and Joely Irlam
We provide tumour-site-specific gene expression signatures to assess hypoxia
While specific genetic alterations provide a route to personalisation, tumour hypoxia provides a global picture of resistance. ManTRa Dx test – pan-cancer NGS targeted RNA-signature panel detects hypoxia in multiple cancers. Our method embeds seamlessly within clinical workflows, requiring no additional intervention/biopsy and demonstrated by its integration within the North West Centre for Genomic medicine’s clinical work flow.
Hypoxia-measurement will enable clinicians to individualise care and research new combination treatments
ManTRa DX test will act as a biomarker allowing pharmaceutical companies, university/hospital labs/KOLs to evaluate hypoxia’s impact on treatment efficacy, stratify patients according to suitability, and refine clinical trial cohorts. Hypoxia-measurement will enable clinicians to individualise care and research new combination treatments, facilitating personalised care plans improving patient outcomes.